On the whole, there are both challenges and opportunities to China’s export this year. Speaking of challenges, export is under relatively great pressure due to lack of external demand. The WTO expected global trade in goods to grow by 7.1% this year, significantly lower than the 2.6% of the past 12 years on average. Inflation remains high in leading developed economies; continued interest hikes have suppressed investment and consumption demand; import has therefore declined year on year for several months in a row. As a result, ROK, India, Vietnam, and China’s Taiwan region have witnessed remarkable decline in their exports in recent months, especially sluggish export to American and European markets. On the other hand, there are also opportunities, as China finds more diversified export markets, develops more varied products, and creates richer types of businesses. In particular, with the efforts of Chinese exporters to expand overseas market and meet the changing international needs, they can foster new competitive advantages and show strong resilience.

At present, MOFCOM, together with sub-national governments and interested departments, is making every effort to implement the policies and measures to stabilize and optimize foreign trade. We will focus on the following fours areas: The first area is trade promotion. We will support foreign trade companies in joining overseas exhibitions and trade fairs, and ensure unimpeded flow of their staff and businessmen. We will hold major exhibitions, including the 134th Canton Fair, and the 6th CIIE. Second, we will improve the business environment by reinforcing financial support for foreign trade companies, such as financing and credit insurance. We will also remove bottlenecks to enhance customs clearance. The third areas is innovation. We will foster the model of cross-border e-commerce plus industry belts to drive B2B export enabled by cross-border e-commerce. Forth, we will make the best use of FTAs. In order to improve the comprehensive utilization rate of FTAs, we will continue to ensure sound implementation of RCEP and other FTAs, improve public services, and organize trade promotion events with our trading partners. In addition, we will listen to foreign trade companies and industries to learn about their difficulties, challenges, requests, and suggestions, so as to help them reduce costs and increase profits, and achieve stable development.